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by paopuleaf



Series: and they were roommates (oh my god they were roommates) [3]
Category: Half Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Post-Canon, Roommates, a little bit of chatfic-esque style in the beginning but i assure you that's not the whole fic !, nonbinary benrey. they/themrey, streamer benrey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:35:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24192910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paopuleaf/pseuds/paopuleaf
Summary: [10:46 PM]Muffled, barely audible talking, and then a laugh before something- no,someoneis thrown across the webcam. "Benrey!" Someone yells, and a figure comes into view at the very edge of the webcam, tangled in blankets. "Don't- don't throw me like that!"Somebody's (read: Benrey) been leaving money out for Gordon, and he's determined to figure out where it's coming from. Benrey just wants to vibe.
Relationships: Benrey/Gordon Freeman
Series: and they were roommates (oh my god they were roommates) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1739020
Comments: 18
Kudos: 480





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**Author's Note:**

> like i mentioned in the tags, there's a little bit of a style shift in the beginning ! i had a lil idea for sumthin and ran with it :]

**[10:43 PM]** The stream has been up and going for a while. The game is Earthbound. "This is gonna be pretty, uh, pretty shitty to try n' speedrun, huh," Benrey mumbles, eyebrows furrowing when they get hit by a Rambling Mushroom. 

**medusakin:** yeah lmao

**batsboy:** mushroom time babey

**[10:45 PM]** At the side of the webcam, the door suddenly opens, a loud thud audible. Benrey sets the controller down and glances to the side. "Sorry guys, think Nariko got in. Again." They slide off the headset and set it down, heading just out a view.

**unlimited_catboy:** SHOW US THE CAT

**medusakin:** we want nariko we want nariko we want nariko

**batsboy:** if you dont show us the cat ur Homo of Phobic

**[10:46 PM]** Muffled, barely audible talking, and then a laugh before something- no,  _ someone  _ is thrown across the webcam. "Benrey!" Someone yells, and a figure comes into view at the very edge of the webcam, tangled in blankets. "Don't- don't throw me like that!" 

**unlimited_catboy:** that. is not a cat ! 

**aitimebaby:** no shit 

**medusakin:** what thE FUCK

**[10:47 PM]** Benrey slides back into the chair, very clearly amused as they throw a middle finger to the person behind them. "Sorry, guys. Just the cat." They put back on the headset and begin to play again, only faltering for a second when the person gets up from the bed, messes up their hair, and then walks right out again with muffled expletives audible. 

**batsboy:** didnt kno cats came in human shapes now

**unlimited_catboy:** who??? the fuck???? 

**aitimebaby:** looks like we have a mystery 

**medusakin:** bets on partner

**unlimited_catboy:** oh its on

**[10:49 PM]** Benrey takes a pause to glance down at chat before they snort. "That's classified, bro." 

Gordon used to think he could be… pretty subtle, when he wanted to be. As he shuffles out of Benrey’s room, mind still processing that they  _ picked him up and threw him holy shit _ , he’s revising that assumption. A lot.

-

_ earlier that week _

Gordon picks up the most recent envelope, flipping it over to see the familiar scrawl of Gordon on the back. Inside is twenty dollars, and he stores it in his wallet to use on groceries that night before glancing around. Benrey is hanging half-off the couch, watching Glitch Techs upside down with Nariko next to them. They don’t look like they’ve moved in forever, but it’s not like  _ Joshua  _ could be leaving the money, so it has to be Benrey.

(Tommy was also on the list, but after the first envelope, Gordon had called and asked and nope, not him. Coomer and Bubby are still fucking around in Florida, and there’s no postage stamp on any of them.)

_ Where are they getting the money from? Do they do something while I’m at work? Did they get a job? I haven’t given them a house key- they can fucking teleport, what am I thinking.  _ “Hey, Feetman, stop, uh, stop staring into space. Been sitting there for ten minutes, you’re gonna be late to work, right?”

“Shit, fuck-” Benrey snickers, and Gordon glares at them, shoving his wallet into his pocket alongside his keys. “Don’t, don’t burn the house down while I’m gone-”

“You say that everyday, have I committed arson yet? Nah.”

“Precautionary measures!” 

“Mmehmh,” Benrey mocks, and Gordon throws a pen at them before turning on his heel and leaving. “Love you too, Feetman!” 

“You’re insufferable!”   
  


Once the door is closed, Gordon groans, hiding his face in his hands as he tries to rub the red out of his cheeks. He begins to walk, messing with his hoodie strings as he thinks. “Game plan, game plan- stay home one day? No, too obvious. First I should ask, n’ then… come home early one day? Pretend to go to work and then sneak back in?”  _ None of these are good ideas.  _ With a sigh, he slumps into the seat at the bus stop, resolving to do… well, something by the end of the week. 

The house is not burned down when he gets home. Small blessings. Benrey is on the couch again, right side up this time, scrolling through their phone as some music plays in the background. Gordon kicks off his shoes and flops down onto the couch to join them, scaring Nariko as she jumps from the couch into Benrey’s lap. “Ow-” They gently detach her claws from their pants. “‘Sup? You scared the cat, Meanman.”   
  


“My bad, ‘riko.” Gordon reaches over and pets her, grinning when she purrs and nudges her head against his hand. “Hey, Benrey. What’ve you been up to while I’ve been at work? Not fucking around in my room, I hope.” 

“That’s all I’ve been doing, just going through your drawers,” Benrey deadpans, rolling their eyes. “Nah, I’ve just been playing games and hangin’ with Nariko. Sometimes I go visit Tommy n’ Sunkist. I think Nariko’s warming up to him.”

None of their body language screams ‘lying’ to him in particular, and he’s been trying to give the benefit of the doubt, so Gordon lets the subject drop and glances to the door. “So nobody’s been by while I’ve been gone, right?”

Benrey squints, before shaking their head slightly. “Nah. Why’re you asking, dude? You a cop or somethin’?”

“I’m not the one who used to be a security guard. Just curious.” He tugs on his ponytail, and they reach out and pull his hand away on instinct, letting him start to mess with their hair instead. “Somebody’s been leaving envelopes with like- what I’m assuming is shit for bills and stuff, so I’m trying to figure out who.”

Benrey hums, shrugging. “Haven’t seen anyone break in and leave somethin’. Sure it isn’t your fail ex having Joshie bring stuff over?”

“Mari wouldn’t do that,” Gordon dismisses, because she  _ definitely  _ wouldn’t. If she was going to give money, she’d do it in person, if at all. “Thought it might be you,” and whoops, they tense a little at that, their hands straying to their hoodie strings. 

“Gonna, uh, gonna need to see your passport to confirm or deny that-”

“Ben _ rey- _ ”

“Passport.”  _ So that’s how it’s gonna be, huh? _

When Benrey slips inside their room that night, citing their “gaming time”, Gordon decides to check in. He opens the door open a little, peering in only to see them sitting at the computer, webcam blinking as they talk into their headset. "This is gonna be pretty, uh, pretty shitty to try n' speedrun, huh," they mumble, and Gordon’s eyes widen.

_ Holy  _ shit,  _ they’re a fucking streamer.  _

He leans forward to try and get a better glimpse of the game they’re playing, but wobbles and crashes into the floor, and  _ fuck,  _ Benrey definitely knows he’s here now. “Sorry guys, think Nariko got in. Again.” Gordon hears the click of the headset on the desk as Benrey stands, and he closes his eyes, refusing to look them in the eyes. “Get off the floor, dipshit.”

“Sorry, can’t.” Gordon does not want them to see how embarrassed he is that he got  _ caught,  _ but then there’s hands wrapped around his arms and  _ what are they doing.  _ He laughs, caught off guard as Benrey holds him up, their expression vaguely amused before they  _ toss him across the room.  _ The bed is a comfy spot to end up, all options considered, but holy  _ shit.  _ “Benrey!”

Gordon scrambles to the edge of the bed, shaking his head and trying to untangle himself from the blankets. “Don’t- don’t throw me like that!” Benrey just snickers, heading back to their chair and settling down to keep playing. He can barely think as he gets up.  _ What just happened.  _ “Fuck you.” He ruffles their hair on the way out as some kind of revenge, and slides to the floor in the hallway just outside.

_ They were playing Earthbound,  _ some part of his brain notes. Gordon huffs out a laugh, a little hysterical, and shakes his head. “At least I know who was leaving- leaving the money, huh?”

Benrey comes out a few hours later, when Gordon’s calmed down and on the couch and  _ not  _ about to lose his shit anymore. “Uh. Are you, like, good, dude?” They don’t make eye contact, instead opting to look down at the hoodie they’re messing with. “Didn’t lose any braincells, right?”

“Nah, I’m good,” Gordon reassures, relieved at how some of the tension seems to leave their shoulders. They sit, head tilted back, and he continues. “I’m guessing donation money is what you keep leaving on the counter.”

“... yea. That n’ subscriptions.” 

“Could’ve told me.” Benrey shrugs at that, humming as they mess with their hands, and, well. “Fair enough. What’d you name Ness?”

A pause. “Kist. Tommy donated and asked, but there, uh, there weren’t enough letters for Sunkist.”

“Tommy watches- y’know what, I’m not that surprised.” They sit in silence for a few minutes, before Gordon speaks up again. “Thanks for giving me some of the money n’ shit. It helps with food n’ stuff.”

Benrey smiles a little bit, before it slips back to their normal expression and they shrug yet again. “You burn the food enough to need the extra ingredients.”

“My cooking is- is a fucking blessing, thank you.” 

“Mmm, burnt egg-”

“At least I don’t try cooking them in the damn microwave like someone I know,  _ Benrey. _ ”

Nariko hops onto the couch between them before Benrey can retort, head-butting their hand until they cave and start running their fingers through her fur. “AI don’t know how to cook, do- do I look like I came from fuckin’ Cooking Mama?” They finally respond, and Gordon shrugs. 

“I could always teach you or some shit like that. You had a cooking show on the other day.” 

“... okay. ‘S long as you come onto one of my streams sometime so I can bully you with a live audience.”

Gordon grins, nudging them. “Shut it. I’ll kick your ass.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Definitely!”

“Gonna- gonna call the stream ‘my shitty roommate sucks at video games’.”

  
Benrey snickers as Gordon reaches over Nariko to shove them, and they begin to wrestle, Nariko quickly getting out of dodge. The next weekend, “unhindered_ai” begins a stream: ‘My (not) Shitty Roommate Sucks at Video Games’. (Gordon beats them in at  _ least  _ two games of Mario Kart, but who’s counting?)

**Author's Note:**

> benrey playing earthbound is solely because ive been absolutely fixated on chase clowndepot's earthbound streams lately and i was listening to them while writing this.  
> thank you guys for all the comments n kudos n overall support !! it's really wonderful to see, and i hope you guys continue to enjoy the series :]
> 
> doodles n extra hcs can be found in this [carrd](https://paopuleaf.carrd.co/)!
> 
> you can find me as always on my twitter [@[mxcatboy](https://www.twitter.com/mxcatboy)] or on my tumblr [@[rylron](https://rylron.tumblr.com)] ! alternatively, you can yell at me in the hlvrai discord server [here](https://discord.gg/JxwXbNu)


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